Viral Facebook post turns out to be true

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
2/20/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Man reunited with dog after image goes viral.

You know those annoying chain status updates on Facebook that your friends like to share to raise "awareness?" It appears that one of them actually worked and helped a homeless man get his dog back.

This image went viral on Facebook and helped Dave Thomas reunite with his companion, Buzz Lightyear.

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - On any given day, Facebook users are tortured with guilt over emotional pictures that claim, "if we get one million likes" and "like if you agree." Most are fakes, urban legends, children and grown men begging for attention, and so on. However, every now and then, one of those viral images turns out to have a connection to reality.

In this case, Dave Thomas, a homeless man living in the San Bernardino area was parted from his dog Buzz Lightyear, after police arrested him for failing to show up to court for two traffic violations. Buzz was impounded and Thomas was told it would cost him $400 to retrieve his companion.

Thomas had $6 in his pocket when he went to retrieve Buzz. He broke down in tears in front of Buzz's cage, and Maria Sanchez, a regular visitor to the shelter, snapped his photo. She posted the picture online and it immediately went viral, spreading across Facebook.

By Tuesday morning Thomas had received $2,000, his dog, and even a marriage proposal.

It's a heartwarming story in an age where your emotions are often played online just for attention. In this case though, the case was real and the tugs produced an outpouring of love that saved a man's best friend, and hopefully, in a way, the man himself.

Of course, friends be warned, that's still no license to start hitting "share" on every image.

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Dave Thomas, Buzz Lightyear, dog, Facebook, viral photo

NEWSLETTERS »

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 2 of 2 Comments

Emma
2 months ago
And we wonder why those who are marginalized reach a breaking point and resort to violence. How heartless to put a price that is out of reach on love. Thank God that someone saw this and cared enough to act. Our country is "about the money ". I have no doubt that some would say it cost to house the dog, but $400? Give me a break! Innoculations, with the exception of rabies which has to be administered by a veterinarian, costs no more than $20 for a seven in one at the local feed store and that's wholesale! and what were they feeding it? Prime rib?? So many of these "animal rescues " have become nothing but money makers disguised as non -profits. They promote extreme devotion to these animals and ignore the fact that the best place for this dog would be with the one who it has bonded with living a life it has adapted well to. It's not as if there are no other dogs out there that need the space! and I'd wager that they made it clear to this man that his dog would be humanely euthanized if not adopted or bailed out following a certain period of time, just to be sure that he fully experienced the gravity of his lack of cash! Yep! We wonder why people snap? They break under the cruelty of a system that calculates worth in dollars and cents (rather than sense and compassion) .
DarthJ
2 months ago
$400 dollars? It's $90 here!

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment